Huskies withstand Ephrata rally, win 35-13

EPHRATA – After the Huskies took a 21-0 lead into the halftime locker room, Ephrata scored on its first two offensive drives of the third quarter to cut the lead to one score, and the Tigers were once again driving to begin the final frame of Saturday’s Central Washington Athletic Conference matchup. 

However, the Tigers threw an interception in the red zone on a trick play, and the Huskies hung on for an eventual 35-13 win over Ephrata. 

“We were absolutely worried about Ephrata because they’re really tough up front, their quarterback is a stud, that kid is tough as nails,” Othello defensive coordinator Kevin Hale said. “... We knew they were going to give us some problems and that we had to play well. Fortunately for us, we were able to figure some things out at the right time.” 

Ephrata marched down the field on a seven-play, 74-yard touchdown drive that featured a 40-yard catch-and-run by senior Coltyn Klingenberg on a long third down before junior Tavone Mantese reversed the field on an 11-yard touchdown run.  

“(At halftime) We talked about, ‘We’re getting the ball, and there's nothing else that matters but focusing on executing a drive and getting a score on the scoreboard. Then we’ll take on the next challenge,’” Mitchell said. “... it gave us some energy, gave us some life and we ran with it for a bit.” 

After an Othello three-and-one, Ephrata took advantage of two Huskies personal foul penalties to get in the red zone again, where senior Elijah Chavez-Mabry scored on a 20-yard reception to bring the score to 21-13 after the extra point was missed. 

“We knew it was going to be a tough, physical game coming in, and we wanted to get back on track and put a four-quarter game together – we haven’t felt like we’ve put four solid quarters of good football back-to-back,” Ephrata Head Coach Patrick Mitchell said. “That was the goal coming in – first half was not how we wanted to play, but I thought the kids did a great job of rallying.” 

The Tigers surprised the Huskies with an onside kick following Chavez-Mabry's touchdown, which they recovered.  

Seven plays later, Ephrata was once again deep in Othello territory – the Tigers ran a trick play where Mantese, a running back, caught the ball behind the line of scrimmage and threw the ball toward the end zone, but Othello senior RJay Garza intercepted the pass to end the Ephrata scoring run. 

“I did bite at first, but I was able to react in time and he threw it right to me,” Garza said. “... it was definitely a huge momentum change. Our defense was struggling in that third quarter, so it hyped the guys up and helped the offense move the ball down the field and score again.” 

Othello then strung together 10- and seven-play scoring drives in the fourth quarter to ice the game away. 

Huskie sophomore Ryan Martinez stepped in under center again, filling in for starter Quade Gonzalez IV who left last week’s game with an injury. 

“I had a little nerves, but as soon as you cross that line you can’t think – you've just got to go,” Martinez said. “It’s all in your head, you’ve just got to leave it to your team." 

Othello had 312 yards of offense in the win, 218 of which came on the ground. Junior Gavin Carl paced Othello with 21 carries for 167 yards and a touchdown. Senior Jordan DeLeon reached the end zone twice – once on a 29-yard touchdown catch and the other on a 2-yard run – while junior Stadyc Stromberg caught an 8-yard touchdown pass just before halftime. Rounding out the Othello scoring was senior RJ Ramirez, who scored on a 6-yard carry in the fourth quarter. 

“Nothing could happen without the offensive line, nothing at all,” Martinez said. “They start everything – passing, running – they're the head of it. I’m so grateful for my line.” 

While the 6-0 Huskies have surrendered an average of less than 10 points to opposing teams this season, Hale said there are still things to learn. 

“We’re so aggressive on defense, where sometimes we play ourselves out of position,” Hale said. “We’ve got to be smarter about that – when we pursue with all-out abandon, we’ve got to do it with our eyes up and be disciplined when we’re doing it.” 

Othello (5-0 CWAC) hosts Prosser on Friday at 7 p.m. The Tigers (3-3, 3-2 CWAC) travel to Toppenish on Friday at 7 p.m. 

Box score  

OTH: 7-14-0-14 35
EPH: 0-0-13-0 13 

    Ephrata senior Coltyn Klingenberg (3) races past the Othello defense on a 40-yard catch-and-run in the third quarter on Saturday.
  

    Othello junior Gavin Carl (38) led the Huskies in rushing with 176 yards on Saturday. Carl also scored the team’s first touchdown of the day.
  

    Ephrata senior Tavone Mantese (9) scored a touchdown on an 11-yard carry in the third quarter against Othello on Saturday.